Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Comments

The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".

Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.

In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the squad.

"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.

However, following Crawley made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."

"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.

Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging

Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.

The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.

Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.

Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.

"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."

Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph

Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.

The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.

This means, the home team need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three matches played.

A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series loss.

The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.

Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.

"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."

"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.

"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."

Ollie Pope's Position In Question

Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.

The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.

In 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.

A solitary other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.

However, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."

"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."

"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk from the outside. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.